JAY-Z paid an emotional tribute to his late friend Nipsey Hussle during a concert on Friday (26Apr19).
The 33-year-old rapper died in March (19) after being shot on the street near his clothing store in the Hyde Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles.
To honour the slain musician and activist, Jay performed an impromptu freestyle song for Nipsey, real name Ermias Asghedom, during an intimate gig at Webster Hall in New York.
In the surprise performance, which was captured in an Instagram post by BET Networks, the 49-year-old rapped, "Gentrify your own hood before these people do it / Claim eminent domain and have your people move in / That's a small glimpse into what Nipsey was doing/ For anybody still confused as to what he was doing.
"The neighbourhood designed to keep up trapped / They redline us so property declines if you by blacks / They depress the asset and take the property back / It's a ruthless but ingenious plan in fact."
The hip-hop mogul addressed Nipsey's tragic death later in the rap too, and stated, "I told neighbourhood Nipsey stay close / There's a hundred million dollars on your schedule, lay low... I never dreamed he'd be killed in a place that he called home."
During the gig on Friday, JAY was joined by Nas for a rendition of the latter's 1994 Illmatic track, The World Is Yours, and also brought out Cam'ron, who performed Welcome to New York City.
"We should've been doing s**t like this a long time ago. (Cam) ain't my enemy. Nas ain't my enemy. They're my brothers," Jay told the crowd, referencing the rappers' previous feuds.
Suspect Eric Holder, 29, has been charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, in relation to Nipsey's death. He has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted.
